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Footfall now irrelevant indicator of retail success

By Dan Cohen

From price comparison sites through to loyalty and reward schemes, coupon, voucher code and cashback sites, 92 per cent of connected consumers (consumers who own a smartphone and shop online at least once per month) are making these Performance Marketing websites and apps their first port of call when researching what to buy, rather than browsing on the high street.

The report strongly suggests that high street retailers’ traditional metric – footfall – is no longer a guarantee of success. 60 per cent of connected consumers use their smartphones whilst out shopping. Of those, three quarters use their mobile to look-up information on a product they see in a store, with 70 per cent checking for a better price elsewhere and 60 per cent going home to buy the product online after checking the price on their phone in-store.

This is a wake-up call for marketers and high street retailers. Retailers’ traditional metric – footfall – is now an irrelevant indicator of retail success and they need to embrace performance marketing strategies now that 51 per cent of mobile shoppers are searching for vouchers or discounts for products they have seen in-store and 44 per cent are using vouchers sent to their mobile.

Retailers need defensive and offensive strategies to protect and grow their revenues and indeed, to even remain relevant in this intense multichannel world. The research from Tradedoubler also suggests that once Performance Marketing channels become a feature of shopper behaviour, they command their own loyalty, driving repeat purchases with as much claim on that loyalty as brands themselves. Over a quarter of customers make additional purchases every month as a result of receiving emails from Performance Marketing sites – almost as many as a result of follow-up brand communication.

Tradedoubler Insight Unit, carried out the research amongst 2,500 smartphone users who shop at least once a month online – in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Sweden and Poland. The countries covered by the research account for 89 per cent of the retail e-commerce market in Europe.

About the author

Dan Cohen is Regional Director at Tradedoubler. The company creates multi-channel performance marketing programs for clients on a payment by results basis.